Divorcing Spouses Ultimately Influence The Marriages Of Others
The perennial bridesmaid watches as all of her friends walk down the aisle to the man of their dreams.
She then witnesses the births of the children coming from these unions, and she still does not have a special someone much less a ring on her finger.
As much as she may feel like marriage and pregnancy are a bug being caught by all except for her, she also wonders if she is the lucky one for still being single and not having to worry about divorce statistics and a possible dissolution of marriage where child custody and visitation as well as child support payments are the new issues of her life.
Just like a contagious sickness that spreads like wildfire among individuals within close proximity to one another, some question whether or not divorce is akin to a disease between tight knit groups of friends, theorizing that if one married couple chooses to file for divorce then the rest of the duos in the group also risk the same fate as the breakup germ is transferred around.
So is there really any proof that divorce is contagious?
Surprisingly, there is some truth to the idea that two people getting a divorce exert influence on the other members of their social circle, usually in an unintentional manner.
New research has concluded that if a married person is friends with someone who is about to go through the divorce process, he or she is one hundred forty-seven times more likely to do the same thing within his or her own marriage and be next in the line of divorcing spouses.
There is also the contagious factor among siblings who are each married themselves.
The same research shows that if one has chosen to participate in the divorce procedure, the other sibling becomes twenty-two percent more likely to follow suit and dissolve their own marital union.
Despite the results of the conducted research, is the United States divorce situation really one that is all about "monkey see, monkey do?"
Not necessarily.
But because two people from the same social circle (or family) are likely to discuss their marital problems and break-ups with one another, it is only natural that the person who originally was not intending on filing for a divorce suddenly re-examines their relationship and decides otherwise.
To put it another way, sometimes when a friend is in the process of dissolving their marriage it turns into a wakeup call for the still married individual to figure out whether or not he or she is still happy within his or her marital union, or if relationship problems are being experienced to such a high degree that a trip to the family law court becomes inevitable.
Unfortunately, everyone influences everyone else in this world no matter what position they hold in someone's life - friend, family member, or co-worker, none are exempt from the influential factor whether or not they are intending to try and change the other person's path. And, divorce is not the only issue with which a social circle has sway as even weight, smoking cigarettes, and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages have been shown to be controlled in part by what the others in the group are doing and how they are opting to behave in their own lives.
Is there any way to escape the forces of nature that are at work helping to contribute to the high divorce rate?
The power of influence goes in both directions - which means that if one member (or married couple) of a social circle wants something positive, he or she has to get everyone else on board for participation in the project as doing things in a group setting makes it much easier to accomplish a goal than going at it alone.
And because a majority of married couples point out that they are unfortunately unhappy in their unions a great deal of the time, one person initiating the idea of all working together in making everyone's marriages more healthy and stable is enough inspiration to get the members of the group enthusiastically involved in the cause.
Using one's power of influence in a positive manner can only help alleviate marital issues and thus decrease the overall divorce rate in the United States.
She then witnesses the births of the children coming from these unions, and she still does not have a special someone much less a ring on her finger.
As much as she may feel like marriage and pregnancy are a bug being caught by all except for her, she also wonders if she is the lucky one for still being single and not having to worry about divorce statistics and a possible dissolution of marriage where child custody and visitation as well as child support payments are the new issues of her life.
Just like a contagious sickness that spreads like wildfire among individuals within close proximity to one another, some question whether or not divorce is akin to a disease between tight knit groups of friends, theorizing that if one married couple chooses to file for divorce then the rest of the duos in the group also risk the same fate as the breakup germ is transferred around.
So is there really any proof that divorce is contagious?
Surprisingly, there is some truth to the idea that two people getting a divorce exert influence on the other members of their social circle, usually in an unintentional manner.
New research has concluded that if a married person is friends with someone who is about to go through the divorce process, he or she is one hundred forty-seven times more likely to do the same thing within his or her own marriage and be next in the line of divorcing spouses.
There is also the contagious factor among siblings who are each married themselves.
The same research shows that if one has chosen to participate in the divorce procedure, the other sibling becomes twenty-two percent more likely to follow suit and dissolve their own marital union.
Despite the results of the conducted research, is the United States divorce situation really one that is all about "monkey see, monkey do?"
Not necessarily.
But because two people from the same social circle (or family) are likely to discuss their marital problems and break-ups with one another, it is only natural that the person who originally was not intending on filing for a divorce suddenly re-examines their relationship and decides otherwise.
To put it another way, sometimes when a friend is in the process of dissolving their marriage it turns into a wakeup call for the still married individual to figure out whether or not he or she is still happy within his or her marital union, or if relationship problems are being experienced to such a high degree that a trip to the family law court becomes inevitable.
Unfortunately, everyone influences everyone else in this world no matter what position they hold in someone's life - friend, family member, or co-worker, none are exempt from the influential factor whether or not they are intending to try and change the other person's path. And, divorce is not the only issue with which a social circle has sway as even weight, smoking cigarettes, and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages have been shown to be controlled in part by what the others in the group are doing and how they are opting to behave in their own lives.
Is there any way to escape the forces of nature that are at work helping to contribute to the high divorce rate?
The power of influence goes in both directions - which means that if one member (or married couple) of a social circle wants something positive, he or she has to get everyone else on board for participation in the project as doing things in a group setting makes it much easier to accomplish a goal than going at it alone.
And because a majority of married couples point out that they are unfortunately unhappy in their unions a great deal of the time, one person initiating the idea of all working together in making everyone's marriages more healthy and stable is enough inspiration to get the members of the group enthusiastically involved in the cause.
Using one's power of influence in a positive manner can only help alleviate marital issues and thus decrease the overall divorce rate in the United States.